The expansion of the concept "respectability politics" from "minorities shouldn't have to suppress their cultural differences to make political demands" to "you shouldn't have to refrain from insulting or threatening people you are Asking For Better from" is where I think things went gravely wrong - ThreadSky

dallaninvictus.bsky.social • 5 days ago

The expansion of the concept "respectability politics" from "minorities shouldn't have to suppress their cultural differences to make political demands" to "you shouldn't have to refrain from insulting or threatening people you are Asking For Better from" is where I think things went gravely wrong

Reposted from Ed

the entitlement of expecting people to have to put up with your abuse because you are mad and incapable of regulating your own behavior is one of the strongest antipolarizing forces I experience and it is a regular effort to remember that the people threatening others with hammers are an outlier

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turtlebee.bsky.social•5 days ago

That and the tone argument going from meaning "being angry is not a reason to be ignored" to "being angry means insulting and tearing into anyone who you disagree with is praxis"

dallaninvictus.bsky.social•5 days ago

I feel like a lot of people are mistaking catharsis for praxis, yes: what feels good in their emotionally activated state is not necessarily or even probably going to actually produce change

so which do you prioritise?

dhpljm266.bsky.social•5 days ago

It’s also clear that the original thing that was involved was: “Jim Crow says no black person can be respectable, by definition, yet we are implicitly saying that that is not a thing we can be deprived of” as part of the symbolism of the USCR protest method.

dhpljm266.bsky.social•5 days ago

Later, people say “but what if we don’t want to try to leverage that symbolism, what if we don’t want to have to play a role called ‘respectable’” - but that’s progress! Progress is breaking Jim Crow so you don’t have to make efforts that are as heroic.

dhpljm266.bsky.social•5 days ago

But the implications of the original tactics got lost, and it all go tied up with Counterculture “do your own thing, maaaan” which was also mostly fine.

But the upshot is an “if you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best” attitude towards activism.

dhpljm266.bsky.social•5 days ago

Which is underlain not by a burning desire for justice but a belief that victory was guaranteed the moment the morally right answer was derived, and allies are being done a favor by being offered an opportunity to sign on to the cause.

flobbert.bsky.social•5 days ago

“Hey don’t be a bully” isn’t tone policing but there’s a whole bunch of folks who deeply feel that it is

maxim-dorky.bsky.social•5 days ago

I said this in another thread, but somewhere along the line the idea of "There's no such thing as bullying, there's only privileged Karens who can't handle hard truth" got taken up eagerly by activist movements.

dallaninvictus.bsky.social•5 days ago

I mean, it _is_ tone policing but that is sometimes necessary

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